So when the No. 1-state ranked Lincoln High School boys basketball team finally claimed the Class 3A Lincoln Regional championship Friday night, they could exhale after a hard-fought 46-44 overtime victory over Decatur MacArthur at Roy S. Anderson Gym.

“We struggled all night,” Lincoln coach Neil Alexander said. “They did a nice job of pressuring us and didn’t let us get our shots going. They stopped the dribble-drive and that’s a lot of our shots. We didn’t get that done, but our kids fought.”

Lincoln (30-2) shot miserably in the third quarter and found itself down 28-26 by the end of the period after multiple baskets by MacArthur senior power forward Jerome Adams. Lincoln made just 22 percent field goal attempts in the third quarter.

The Railers particularly struggled from long range, converting just 3-of-18 attempts behind the arc.

But two of those 3s came at pivotal moments.

MacArthur (16-11) took a 34-28 advantage midway through the fourth quarter after senior point guard Marcus Bartley outran Lincoln defenders to the hoop.

That was the largest lead in the game, but Lincoln did not panic.

Lincoln senior point guard Max Cook responded with a 3 to make it 34-31 and younger brother Will Cook edged the Railers closer 36-34 with another bomb.

The home crowd then roared when Max Cook assisted to senior forward Edward Bowlby who also drew a foul to finally tie the contest 36-36 with 2:34 remaining after giving up the lead midway through the third period.

Cook recaptured the lead 38-36 with under two minutes left to cap a 7-0 rally. Cook finished the game with 12 points and three assists.

“It was a great game, but we didn’t play our best,” Max Cook said. “We didn’t knock down as many shots as we should have. My legs are a little tired, but they are a great team. Marcus Bartley is a tremendous player and he had a great career.”

MacArthur junior guard Jaquay Owens, however, grabbed a weak-side rebound and tied the contest 38-38 with 1 minute on the clock.

That sent the game to overtime.

“This is the best defensive team I’ve ever coached,” said MacArthur coach Felipe Phillips. “We didn’t allow them to get much. I’m proud of these boys the way they performed. They went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team on the home floor. It’s hard to come in here and get a win.”

Owens only averaged 3.1 points per game before Friday, but came out of nowhere and led the Generals with 14 points in the game. Bartley, who committed to St. Louis University and averaged 18.7 points per game before the contest, followed with 13 points.

Page 2 of 2 - “Best high school ball player I’ve coached,” Phillips said of Bartley. “He did everything we asked him to do. Straight ‘A’ student, Honor Society and never got in trouble in school. He came in every workout we had. A class act kid.”

In overtime, Lincoln raced to a promising start after Cook assisted again to Bowlby who converted both free throws after a shooting foul. Bowlby had six points in the game, despite shooting 2-of-10 from the floor.

“He was dishing it down to me low,” Bowlby said of Cook. “I couldn’t really hit the outside shots, so I ended up going in the middle a little bit. I don’t know why, but they were in and out.”

Owens kept the Generals in the game with a big 3 to make it 42-41 with 2:05 left.

However, Lincoln junior forward Gavin Block responded with a power drive to go up 44-41 with 1:20 left. He led the Railers with 19 points.

“We had to stay aggressive,” Block said. “Our shots weren’t falling from the outside like they usually are.”

After that, Lincoln was able to preserve its second straight regional championship at the charity stripe.

“We got off to a start,” Alexander said of overtime. “It’s so much more comforting to be ahead in the overtime and we jumped out in the overtime and scored the first basket. Then, you can relax and play a little bit.”

Lincoln will face Chatham-Glenwood on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Mattoon Sectional. The Titans eliminated Lincoln last year 44-42 in overtime in the sectional championship game.

“That’ll be a tough game for us,” Alexander said of Glenwood. “I just hope they remember what they did to us last year and we should have a fire in our belly that’s burning really hot.”

But for now, Lincoln can celebrate another championship after claiming a share of the Central State Eight Conference title at the end of the regular season.

“It was unreal,” Bowlby said.” It was a good way to finish my senior year at Roy S.”